Football dives: How to tell if a soccer player is faking injury

Dives are often used to exaggerate the amount of contact present in a challenge so the fouled player will be awarded a free-kick or a penalty kick.

2018/07/06

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RUSSIA — Soccer players dive to gain an unfair advantage by falling to the ground and possibly faking an injury — all to give the impression that a foul has been committed.

A 2009 study identified four distinct actions that may indicate a player is taking a dive. These are: Taking fully controlled strides before falling; clutching a part of the body where the player was not hit, such as when a player is kicked in the right leg but clutches the left leg; taking extra rolls after falling and hitting the ground; and performing an exaggerated and unnatural gesture of raising the arms above the shoulders and extending the chest while falling, which researchers dubbed "the archer's bow."

The 2009 study was published in the Springer Journal of Nonverbal Behavior by Paul Morris, an expert on the embodiment of emotions and intentions in the Department of Psychology at the University of Portsmouth.

A separate study, led by Robbie Wilson of the University of Queensland, found that dives most often occur when a player is near the offensive goal or when a match is tied. Wilson's study found players dove more often when referees rewarded such behavior.

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